Founded in 1980, Flying Machine, apart from jeans, sells T-shirts, footwear, backpacks and watches, among other accessories, at a starting price of Rs349.

New Delhi: Home-grown denim brand Flying Machine has aggressive revenue targets for its next phase of expansion, which it believes are easily achievable.

The brand, owned by textile maker Arvind Lifestyle Brands Ltd, is expecting to clock Rs1,000 crore in revenue by 2022, up from the current Rs375 crore, a top company executive said.

Not just that. Flying Machine is also planning to relaunch its womenswear range of products in a bid to strengthen its position as a youth fashion brand against a male-centric one.

“We have been silent on womenswear. The brand is beyond jeans; it is a youth fashion brand. Our target is Rs1,000 crore in revenue and with the kind of growth the brand is looking at, the target is very much possible,” said Alok Dubey, chief executive officer, lifestyle brands at Arvind Lifestyle Brands, which sells foreign labels like Tommy Hilfiger, Nautica, GAP and Aeropostale.

The company also has a partnership with French multi-brand cosmetics retailer Sephora and America’s largest speciality retailer of children’s apparel and accessories The Children’s Place.

Founded in 1980, Flying Machine, apart from jeans, sells T-shirts, footwear, backpacks and watches, among other accessories, at a starting price of Rs349.

The company currently retails through 175 exclusive brand outlets, 242 large format stores and more than 500 multi-brand outlets. Going forward, Flying Machine is looking to add 50 sales points in 2017.

Over the last three years, Flying Machine has doubled its revenue from Rs170 crore in 2014 to Rs325 crore in 2017.

“The turnaround of the brand has been amazing. The brand had slipped in 2000 but we picked it up again a few years ago. We expanded the offering and now, the brand has an extremely strong bottom line,” said Dubey.

Dubey is referring to the lull Flying Machine saw in early 2000s with consumers moving on to international denim brands.

Following the drop in demand, Arvind had re-launched the brand in 2007 with expanded offerings and exclusive outlets.

Experts believe that the challenge for brands like Flying Machine is to remain relevant and keep up with young consumers.

“The Indian market is very bullish on the value-segment right now. The market is growing very fast and very well. The brand has to be relevant to the consumers so that they feel connected especially the brands that play in casual apparel space,” said Anurag Mathur, leader, retail at consulting firm PwC India

The Indian fashion and lifestyle market is expected to touch Rs3,94,000 crore over the next five years, according to a 2016 survey by consulting firm A.T. Kearney.

The market was valued at Rs2,21,000 crore in 2016, growing at a compounded annual growth rate of 12%.fifthMAds